Oakland Museum of California Announces Public Programs and Events for November 2022
Three Weekly Friday Nights at OMCA Events Celebrate Diwali and Honor Indigenous Peoples’ Month, Including a Hands-On Rangoli-Making Activity, Live Drumming, Dancing and Singing, and a Documentary Film Screening; An Inspiring Voter Information Program Centering Joy Will Be Held on November 6
(Oakland, CA) October 17, 2022 — Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) honors cultural traditions and encourages action this November with a variety of events, exhibitions, and public programs that will engage visitors throughout the month. November’s Friday Nights at OMCA lineup continues to bring the community together with activities, music, programs, and Off the Grid food trucks every Friday evening from 5 to 9 pm.
On November 4, visitors are invited to celebrate Diwali and mark a new beginning at OMCA with a hands-on rangoli activity, an ancient art form native to parts of South Asia.
As the November 8 General Election approaches, visitors are invited to stay informed and center joy this election season with the special program, VOTE joyfully, on Sunday, November 6. Artists Lena Wolff and Hope Meng who are featured in OMCA’s Hella Feminist exhibition will conduct a screen printing activity with their graphic “VOTE” posters. There will be free giveaways of posters and other screen printed objects. Visitors are encouraged to bring clothing, totes, or other fabric items to screenprint with the artist’s “VOTE for Democracy” design. A workshop will also be held and led by Becca Horwitz of Planned Parenthood Advocates Mar Monte that will explore how to center joy and community in voting, and aim to demystify confusing ballot measures while helping the public develop the tools to discern accurate information about candidates and policies.
In honor of Indigenous Peoples’ Month, visitors can gather for an evening of powerful drum beats, dancing, and singing on Friday, November 11. The All Nations Singers, an intertribal Indigenous singing and drumming group, will bring their big Pow Wow sound to Friday Nights at OMCA. Additionally, the Sonoma County Pomo Dancers of the North Bay will perform an experience of ceremony, prayer, song, and dance straight from their tribal communities.
On Friday, November 18, the community is invited to a screening of Groundworks, a documentary that brings viewers into the lives of four California Native contemporary artists, musicians, dancers, and cultural activists. The film weaves together these artists’ stories and their contemporary ways of sharing traditional knowledge, and considers issues of land management, water rights, and food security. The complete schedule of November events at OMCA may be found below. For more information, visit museumca.org.
NOVEMBER PUBLIC PROGRAMS AND EVENTS AT OMCA
Friday Nights at OMCA
Reconnect with family, friends, and community every week during Friday Nights at OMCA. These free, family-friendly events provide a gathering place each week, including live music, hands-on activities, Off the Grid (OTG) food trucks, and the newly-launched Town Fare Sundeck, featuring an outdoor bar and select bar bites from the cafe menu. Take advantage of late-night access to our galleries and special exhibitions with a Museum ticket, or bring a blanket and lounge in our garden, now open with direct access to Lake Merritt.
Friday, November 4, 5—9 pm
DJ Siyah; Rangoli Making: A Diwali Celebration
Join us in celebration of Diwali, a festival of lights, with a hands-on rangoli activity.
Diwali is celebrated by many in parts of South Asia and around the world by the South Asian diaspora. People of different religions, including Hindus, Jains, Sikhs, Buddhists, as well as those who don’t identify as part of a religion, celebrate Diwali in their own way, with their own stories. The festival marks new beginnings, new light to guide us through the year. To celebrate promising occasions like Diwali, people draw rangolis. Rangoli is an ancient art form native to parts of South Asia including India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka, and is made using materials like rice powder, brick powder, chalk powder, flower petals, and colored sand. Visitors can participate in making large rangoli together with various items, and young visitors can have fun with rangoli coloring sheets. DJ Siyah will be playing in the Amphitheater from 6 to 8 pm.
Friday, November 11, 5—9 pm
DJ Benet; All Nations Singers and Drummers, and Sonoma County Pomo Dancers
Join us in the OMCA Amphitheater for an evening of powerful drum beats, dancing, and singing in honor of Indigneous Peoples’ Month. All Nations Singers is a legendary Northern Style Pow Wow singing group founded in Oakland by Michael Bellanger and others in 1989. This intertribal Indigenous singing and drumming group will bring that big Pow Wow sound to Friday Nights at OMCA at 7 pm and again at 8 pm.
At 7:30 pm, enjoy a performance of traditional Pomo dancing and singing from the North Bay’s Sonoma County Pomo Dancers. This group of talented dancers and singers offers an experience of ceremony, prayer, song, and dance straight from tribal community.
DJ Benet will be playing in the Amphitheater from 6 to 8 pm.
Friday, November 18, 5—9 pm
DJ Teao Sense; Film Screening of Groundworks; Oakland Public Library’s Bike Library
At 6 pm, join us in the James Moore Theater for a screening of Groundworks, a documentary that brings viewers into the lives of four California Native contemporary artists, musicians, dancers, and cultural activists. While weaving together these artists’ stories and their contemporary ways of sharing traditional knowledge, the documentary considers issues of land management, water rights, and food security—concerns for all Americans, especially in an age of climate change.
Following the film screening will be a short musical offering and panel discussion about the film.
DJ Teao Sense will be playing in the Amphitheater from 6 to 8 pm. Make sure to stop by Oakland Public Library’s Bike Library to grab a free book, sign up for a library card, and join us for Storytime in the OMCA Garden starting at 5:30 pm.
VOTE joyfully
Sunday, November 6, 20221 2- 2 pm Lower Level | Koret Plaza and California Room
Free and open to the public
Voting is integral to a healthy democracy. However, low voter turnout, misinformation, and disillusionment are widespread. Join us for this OMCA program that will provide valuable voter information for the upcoming November 8 General Election, while centering creativity, inspiration, and joy.
Starting at 12 pm at Koret Plaza, artists Lena Wolff and Hope Meng who are featured in OMCA’s Hella Feminist exhibition will conduct a screen printing activity with their graphic “VOTE” posters. The VOTE posters are part of a free public art and civic engagement project that initially began in 2017 in response to the political climate in the United States. The current posters on view in Hella Feminist were designed to urge people to vote in the 2022 midterms for meaningful reasons related to social and environmental justice. There will be free giveaways of posters and other screen printed objects. Visitors are encouraged to bring clothing, totes, or other fabric items to screenprint with the artist’s “VOTE for Democracy” design.
At 1 pm in the California Room, join us for a workshop led by Becca Horwitz, Grassroots Organizer of Planned Parenthood Advocates Mar Monte that will explore how we can center joy and community in voting. The workshop will address issues on the ballot that are vital to the health and wellbeing of our communities, aiming to demystify confusing language of some of the ballot measures while helping the public develop the tools to discern accurate information about candidates and policies.
On View at OMCA in November
Angela Davis — Seize the Time
Great Hall
On View until June 11, 2023
Angela Davis — Seize the Time is an exhibition focused on Davis and her image. Organized in partnership with the Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University, the exhibition provides a compelling and layered narrative of Davis’s journey. Using the Angela Davis Archive in Oakland as both the heart of the exhibition and a source, visitors are given the opportunity to investigate how we remember, preserve, and activate radical Black history, while also allowing us to re-imagine the construction of the image of Davis as an icon of American Black radical resistance, female empowerment, and a threat to the white patriarchal status quo.
Beyond the archive and popular culture references, the exhibition positions Angela Davis as a continuing touchstone for contemporary artists referencing mass incarceration, Black Lives Matter, and economic disenfranchisement. Contemporary artworks assert Davis’s significance as a Black feminism intellectual and engage with her as a historical participant in a larger narrative, not simply as an unmoored image of radical chic.
Hella Feminist
Great Hall
On View until January 8, 2023
Feminism. It’s a loaded word; as empowering to some as it is challenging for others. OMCA takes on this complex and timely topic with Hella Feminist, celebrating the lesser-known stories of feminism here in Oakland and the Bay Area. Bringing together historic objects from the Museum’s collection such as posters, pins, and photographs, alongside newly commissioned works by artists, Hella Feminist is rooted in the idea that discrimination against all elements of identity (gender, class, race, sexual orientation, physical ability, education, age, etc.) is interlinked and that no element can be addressed in isolation. The exhibition aims to challenge, provoke, and inspire visitors to reconsider and expand their understanding of feminism and its complicated history.
OMCA Kids: Nature Playspace
Gallery of California Natural Sciences
Ongoing
Little learners can unleash their curiosity and imagination in the newly-created OMCA Kids: Nature Playspace. Located in the Gallery of California Natural Sciences, the playroom is focused on the unique needs of children ages 2 to 5, along with their families and caregivers. Play is critical to every child’s healthy development and the playroom offers something for everyone, from building materials and nature-themed puzzles to hands-on activities that spark creativity, wonder, and joy. Our youngest museum visitors can also discover the animals that make their homes in Oakland’s streams, hills, and backyards. The playroom gives families a fun, safe place to play and to build community with other families. Admission to OMCA is free for kids 12 and under.
Edith Heath: A Life in Clay
Gallery of California Art
On View until October 30, 2022
Trailblazer. Rebel. Revolutionary. Discover the story of Edith Heath, founder and designer of Heath Ceramics. Heath transformed the ceramics industry, creating dinnerware from California clay for “Sunday best” and everyday use. Driven by the power of good design, and a commitment to her craft, Heath’s vision continues to live on through her stoneware and tile over 70 years later. Durable, not delicate, simple, yet stylish, Heath Ceramics is an icon of American design.
Town Fare by Michele McQueen
Town Fare, the cafe at OMCA, is now open and led by chef and manager Michele McQueen, formerly of Gussie’s Chicken and Waffles. Featuring a new menu and beverage program, Town Fare is open during regular museum hours, Wednesday–Sunday, 11–5 pm.
Town Fare’s Sundeck, a new addition located directly outside of the cafe, is open for service every Thursday–Friday, 5–9 pm. Surrounded by OMCA’s terraced gardens, the 45-seat Sundeck features an outdoor bar as well as patio couches and dining furniture for guests to enjoy year-round. Select items from McQueen’s cafe menu will be served along with craft cocktails, wine, and beer.
McQueen’s menu for Town Fare pays homage to her family roots and Oakland upbringing and aims to bring together flavors from the diverse cultures within the local community. The menu is made up of shared plates, salads and sandwiches, and entrées, including vegan options, for on-site dining only. A smaller kids menu is also available.
ABOUT THE OAKLAND MUSEUM OF CALIFORNIA
The Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) tells the many stories that comprise California, creating the space and context for greater connection, trust, and understanding between people. Through its inclusive exhibitions, public programs, educational initiatives, and cultural events, OMCA brings Californians together and inspires greater understanding about what our state’s art, history, and natural surroundings teach us about ourselves and each other. With more than 1.9 million objects, OMCA brings together its multidisciplinary collections of art, history, and natural science with first-person accounts and often untold narratives of California, all within its 110,000 square feet of gallery space and seven-acre campus. The Museum is a leading cultural institution of the Bay Area and a resource for the research and understanding of California’s dynamic cultural and environmental heritage for visitors from the region, the state, and around the world.
VISITOR INFORMATION
The Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) is at 1000 Oak Street, at 10th Street, in Oakland. For details and admission, visit museumca.org
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